Duplicity
by clayvessel14
Summary: When you're leading a double life as a high school student AND a part-time member of Organization 13, it starts to get to you. Our heroine is half persuaded/half kidnapped by Axel to take a vacation in The World That Never Was. It starts out great, with hilarity and new friends. But then members start to go missing. Will Axel and our heroine rescue them? Or become the next victims?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello reader! Thank you for choosing to read the (hopefully) much anticipated sequel to my story **_**Glorious**_**! If you haven't read **_**Glorious**_**, it's not necessary but I would recommend it since it would make Duplicity make more sense. Now without further ado, the disclaimer and the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: This is effective for the whole story. (So I don't have to do it every single chapter.) I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters associated with it.**

"Oof!"

Really? Another head injury? I mean, not to complain or anything, but I really prefer starting my work shift off on a better note.

"Kennedie, get your head in the game!" Axel shouted.

"Um my head is currently _not_ in the game or with the program! I'm still recovering from a concussion remember?" I shot back.

"Meh, that's nothing! If I were human, I would have been in a full body cast!"

We were surrounded by Power Wilds in the Deep Jungle on my first official mission for Organization XIII. The monkey- like Heartless were chucking walnuts or something feverishly at us and I'd just taken a direct hit to the noggin. It had been six weeks since my original concussion so I wasn't all that sore anymore but I was on strict doctor's orders to avoid any more head trauma.

"Sorry Doc," I muttered, "Not today."

With renewed vigor, I charged through the crowd of Heartless, swinging at them with my mace as I went. In seconds I stood huffing and puffing next to my (ugh) _mentor_ Axel. There were no more Heartless.

"How about that Axel? Okay for a beginner?"

"I'm sorry; did you just call me Axel?" -

There was his trademark smirk.

-"Because I could have sworn you called me Axel."

I rolled my eyes.

"I am not going to call you the Almighty Tallest-"

"Yes you are," he said dangerously, "Because if you don't… well you remember the deal."

He waggled a finger obnoxiously in my face.

I exhaled through my nose sharply which was the closest thing to a growl or snarl that I could manage.

"If I'm correct," I started, "I seem to remember you **begging** me to join Organization XIII back at the hospital. So you were never in a position to be making deals in the first place."

"And if _I_ remember correctly, you were suffering from a major concussion at the time. So it's not completely unreasonable of me to say that your memories of things that occurred during your stay at the hospital may not be accurate."

"You're seriously going to burn my chocolate stash if I don't comply!?" I asked in horror.

In response, Axel made a tiny flame in the shape of a chocolate appear over his hand.

Then he exploded the flame and it was gone. My jaw dropped in playful shock.

"You wouldn't…"

"I would," he said, then brightened, "Now how about lunch? I'd say _I_ earned it."

I shoved him.

"Oh shut up!"

Lunch was sandwiches with strawberry lemonade. Of course we couldn't have _regular_ lemonade; it_ had_ to be red. Axel's favourite. While we ate, I asked,

"So tell me again how you found me in the school basement with that Heartless?"

He sighed.

"It's like this weird feeling I get when I'm near a Keyhole. It radiated energy. I got excited because if I found the Keyhole, I could get Roxas or Xion to seal it and then the Heartless would stop attacking your world. So I headed down there and you were there too. The end. Why do you always want me to explain it you over and over again?"

"It still doesn't seem real. Honestly I can't believe I'm part of your Organization. Fighting the Heartless terrifies me."

He smiled then. An actual smile, not just a smirk.

"Then why join?"

"That King Mickey guy was quite convincing. And…"

"And?" Axel prompted, "It had absolutely nothing to do with me?"

I blushed immediately. Why'd he always have to make me feel so awkward?

"Nope. I figured Xion could use another girl around. You know, since that Larxene chick got killed by Sora. He sounds like a pretty cool guy."

Axel's face darkened and he stared hard at the ground at the mention of this girl Larxene.

Well this was a new development.

I knew the death of his colleague had been fairly recent, occurring after we sealed the Earth Keyhole. But I had only heard bad things about her. Was it possible Axel had actually had some kind of connection to her? I made a mental note to investigate further later. In the meantime, I admired my mace. My beautiful mace. After testing my physical fitness level and fighting skill, Xemnas had decided this was the best weapon for me. It was about two feet long, with a black leather handle and a wicked spiked ball at the end. It was a heavy weapon so it slowed me down more than, say, a sword or dagger. However, it packed a wallop. One hit with my mace and you were down. At least, that's what had occurred when I went up against Roxas and Xion during my practice sessions. They were a lot more experienced that me but I landed a few heavy blows that evened out the odds a bit.

"So how's life on Earth?" Axel interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh the usual."

"And that is…"

"School. Relaxing on weekends. Trying to make time for a social life. Usually failing."

He chuckled.

"We've kinda got opposite problems don't we? You don't have enough time and I seem to spend most of mine beating up the baddies or staring up at the ceiling."

"I wish I had your life." I said wistfully.

He cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't you already? At least, sometimes?"

"Well, yeah. But it's crammed into my already crazy life. Every time I come to work with you, I literally add three hours to my day. I have twenty-seven hours in my day. It's exhausting, despite Luxord's help."

There was a long stretch of silence. Finally, Axel said something. He said it slowly and carefully and I could tell he was contemplating something.

"What if…you _could_ have this life?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked cautiously.

"Luxord can control time. What if he gave you a vacation of sorts? Just a week or so… Or two…"

"Or forever" he quietly added as an afterthought while smiling at the ground.

I'd never thought of that. I _did_ feel like I needed a vacation. What could it hurt? The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I could get to know the other Organization XIII members! And tour the Castle That Never Was!

"Axel that's brilliant!" I exclaimed.

He grinned.

"It's settled then. Let's go!"

"Wha-?"

I was cut off by a void of darkness consuming me.


	2. Chapter 2

**So sorry about taking this long to update! I've been crazy busy! But hopefully over the holidays I can update at least every other day. Let the story continue!**

If you don't like flying, I wouldn't recommend traveling by Dark Corridor.

The swirling purple and black space around me distorted everything and made me dizzy. I frantically felt around for Axel until I found the smooth cloth of his cloak and clung to his arm. I suppose the whole ordeal happened in a matter of seconds but to me it felt like sitting through a documentary on the making of chalk. (So like, it felt like I was in there for a really long time.) When we finally emerged from the darkness, I realized I had been holding my breath. I had just started breathing again when I gasped.

"Whoa" I whispered.

I guess it was night time in The World That Never Was because the sky was a deep indigo. I couldn't see stars because of all the neon lights around me. It was like I was in some kind of dystopian metropolis… but there wasn't another soul to be seen. It was eerie really: the lack of life. In the distance I could see a castle that would make even Will and Kate jealous.

"You can let go of my arm now," Axel said," it's your choice really but I figured you would want me to remind you. What with you being so anal about personal space."

I snatched my arm away like it had touched a vegetable. (I could've said hot coals but I mean, let's face it: vegetables are just really, REALLY awful)

"So what do you think?" he asked me.

"It's amazing. So cool. I can't wait to meet everybody!"

Then I remembered how he'd more or less abducted me.

Have you ever seen what happens when you pour water on a grease fire? Maybe not. Okay, have you ever seen a bomb go off? Yeah, I figured you would have seen that. Well just imagine the human anger equivalent of a bomb going off. That was me.

"You dirty rotten good-for-nothing Duskface!" I yelled, and shoved him, "I didn't even have a chance to pack anything! Or tell Lexi where I was going!"

Axel looked taken aback.

"Well there's no need to shout."

"Yes there is!"

"Alright. You've shouted. You used your words. Good job. I'm so proud of you."

"Argh!" I yelled with every oxygen atom left in my lungs, "You are so frustrating! You never think anything through and you act so impulsively!"

He turned away from me and waved a hand over his shoulder casually.

"Again with the yelling. Such a waste of breath on someone who could really care less."

"We need to get to the castle like, **right now** so Luxord can stop time! My family will be wondering where I am in the morning!"

Axel's voice was muffled since we'd started walking but I could still hear his reply fairly well.

"Time is still stopped on Earth. It's not three yet which means Luxord still thinks we're on a mission. It's no big deal. I don't see what all the fuss is about."

One problem was dealt with. The one concerning me only having the cloak on my back remained.

"The "fuss" is about me not having any clothes for a week! Or a toothbrush or a comb or- Or deodorant! How are you going to get me deodorant huh?"

"We may not exist but we at least have the decency to wear deodorant."

I could hear the smirk in his voice. Grr.

"What will I wear?" I demanded to know.

He stopped a couple paces in front of me and turned to face me. He was serious now. Almost… melancholy.

"You're about the same height as Larxene was. You can wear her old cloaks. I think they're in a spare room now."

"Oh. Sure. Um, thanks."

My earlier anger was gone. Axel was obviously saddened by Larxene's death, no matter how awful everyone said she was.

"Pajamas?" I questioned meekly with a small smile.

His eyes widened a bit.

"Well I'd say you could wear Larxene's old pajamas but, um, see, there were some rumours floating around the castle a while ago that she kept her diary in her pajama drawer."

I laughed at his embarrassment.

"Aww wittle Axel's afwaid of Lawxene's diary?" I teased, "Afraid she said something about you?"

"What? Nah! I just…haven't even been near her room since…"

As he trailed off, I realized the meaning of his words.

"Oh. Sorry. It's okay; I'll just sleep in my cloak."

Without another word, we headed up to the castle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Double chapter post yay! Hope you guys are as excited as I am to continue with this story! Remember, I'm still open to suggestions!**

Finally we stood in front of The Castle That Never Was. Axel and I stood in front of the giant double-door entrance. After much pulling and straining, he opened it for me.

"Ladies first."

"Oh so _now_ you decide to be a gentleman. _After_ you abduct me. Classy."

My blue eyes became the size of dinner plates when we walked in the entrance hall. To say it was impressive is an understatement. It was incredible! The ceiling loomed at least fifty feet above me and silver chandeliers dangled from it. The only downside of the whole room was that everything was gray.

"You interior decorator needs a better palette." I commented dryly.

"Yeah well lord Xemnas has quite the personality, which is reflected by the rest of the castle."

"Can we just, like skip the introductions with him?"

"For your sake, I'll make sure we avoid him."

"You're too kind. Can we go see Roxas and-"

A strange sensation spread through my brain suddenly. Similar to when a word is on the tip of your tongue but you can't quite remember it. I searched for a memory that didn't seem to be there.

"Uh, I don't know what I was going to say next. Can we just go see Roxas?"

Axel's face fell.

"I wish we could ya know?"

"Well why can't we?"

Dead silence. He wasn't answering me.

"AXEL! Why can't we go see Roxas?"

"He's-he's gone."

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.

"What do you mean "gone"?"

"Not dead, if that's what you're getting at. Nah he's takin' it easy with his new friends in Twilight Town."

"Why did he leave?"

Axel grunted in frustration. Apparently he was having a hard time answering my questions.

"Roxas didn't leave. We think he was taken somehow but …we don't really know. He's in Twilight Town and has no memory of his life as a Nobody. That's all the info I have right now."

"You mean, he doesn't remember us?" I asked sadly.

Axel shook his head.

"Well how do you know he doesn't remember us?"

"I've been to see him. He only seemed to be interested in swingin' around that Keyblade of his though. Granted, I was trying to kidnap him a bit." He said sheepishly.

"So the Organization wants him back?"

"Pretty much. Returned or dead. And guess who's got the orders for _that_ icky job."

"Oh-no. Oh why didn't you say anything earlier Axel?" I said, my voice choked with sympathy and longing for my friend.

"I was trying to figure out how to tell you I guess."

"I wish you would have said something. It's been pretty hard for you around here huh?"

He pasted on a clearly fake smile and responded with,

"Nah I'm tough."

I figured the best thing to do would be to give him a hug at this point. And frankly, I could've used one too. So I temporarily disengaged my personal bubble. To my surprise, he hugged me back.

"You don't always have to be tough you know," I said into his cloak, seeing as he was freakishly tall. "Other people have your back when you're down."

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Erm, thanks for- having my back. And currently my front as well. It's not all that necessary you know."

"Not necessary" I agreed, "But you're not going to push me away either now are you?"

"I could."

"But you won't."

"I would."

"You wouldn't"

"I'll burn you."

I was about to make known that he would not in fact burn me, when I felt my hands get seared on his back.

"OUCH!" I yelped.

"Told you I would."

"Okay, you've made your point! Let's just not do that again. No more hugs. Like, ever." I snapped.

He laughed then. A real laugh; not the forced ones I'd been hearing all night. It was nice to know that he was going to be okay. And I figured if he could make it, so could I.

"Whoa-ho-ho! What's goin' on here?" a voice said off to my right.

Axel and I both spun to face the person who had just entered the room, with his red hair and my blonde strands whipping around too.

"Demyx, I didn't see you come in." Axel said in a voice that held nothing but seriousness. Normally I never heard him talk with that tone.

"Maybe you're losing your touch Eight." The guy named Demyx said. "Or maybe it's the girl hm? Looks like she was distracting you if you ask me. Is this the "Kennedie" you're always yapping about?"

Axel kept up the poker face while he responded with,

"Kennedie, Demyx. Demyx, Kennedie. Now that formal introductions are out of the way, how about you and I spar Demyx? Seems I haven't kicked your butt in a while."

Suddenly Demyx looked really scared. Like, "I just saw a cobra riding on a tiger's back" scared.

"Hey man! I was just joking! No hard feelings? Heh heh?"

I took a moment to examine Demyx while he was paralyzed with fear. I'll admit, despite being a wimp, he was pretty cute. Provided you took away the hairdo. If a mohawk and a mullet had a baby, you would get Demyx's hair. Blech. Nice blue eyes though. Surfer tan. But the hair! I just-no. Just no. Couldn't get past the hair.

Axel sighed.

"Demyx could you please just go tell lord Xemnas that I've returned? Don't mention her though." He said, glancing in my direction.

I put my hands on my hips.

"Excuse me! _Her_ has a name!"

Demyx chuckled.

"Ooh, she's a bit spirited isn't she?"

Lightning fast, I dashed up to Demyx and said "BOO!" right in his face.

All I can say is Organization XIII's ninth member screams like a girl.

Runs like one too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again readers! Don't forget to review and thanks so much for reading! Just as an added note, this story takes place after Chain of Memories, so between the first two chapters and the third one, Xion ceases to exist. Hope that wasn't too confusing!**

"…Aaaaaand lastly, here is _your_ room." Axel said.

He'd given me a grand tour of the whole Castle That Never Was. It was so huge that by the time we got to my room, we'd used up two hours! This was definitely going to be a great vacation though. Organization XIII had a swimming pool, beautiful rose gardens, a massive library and best of all: a gourmet kitchen that was stocked 24/7. I drooled just walking by it. Strangely, we hadn't seen anybody since Demyx.

"Where is everybody?" I questioned.

"Oh probably still out on missions." Axel said dismissively, "Now are you going to look in your room or not? I had some Dusks prepare it for you while I was showing you around."

"Wait- _you_ had my room prepared for me? Is it like, going to be on fire or something?"

"No, but good idea!" Then he smirked at me. "Should I arrange for it? It would save on the heating bill."

I playfully punched him in the arm.

"No no, I'm sure whatever you've done is fine."

This seemed to please him. With that, I opened the gray door to my guest room.

"Oh wow…"

The walls were a pretty wine colour that might have been depressing if it weren't for the bright silver chandelier and equally shiny four poster bed. The carpet was a soft, plushy gray. (Shocker! Gray again!) There was a flat screen TV of sorts on the wall opposite to my bed and two doors on the other walls.

"Where do the doors lead?"

"Oh it's no big deal really. One opens to your _walk-in closet_. And the other one goes to your en suite bathroom with a _Jacuzzi tub_. But like, I said; no big deal."

"Axel you're the best!" I exclaimed, and gave him another hug.

Then I remembered that I had declared that there was to be no more hugging. 'Cause I mean it was _weird!_ Don't you understand the weirdness?

Good. Because I don't. So yeah, the "weirdness" was why there was not going to be anymore hugging. End of story.

"Kay I get that you're grateful but this is weird even for you." Axel said, breaking me out of my thoughts. Apparently I was still hugging him. I let go. Immediately.

Blech. I disgust me sometimes. Hugging one as annoying as Axel? What was I thinking?

"Sorry about that. I was just socializing with those beyond the fourth wall."

"_What?"_

"What?"

Pause.

"Aaaaaanyway, my room is great," I said, and began pushing him out the door, "So thanks again and uh- get out!"

With Axel out of the room, I leaned against the door and closed my eyes while trying to calm my breathing. So much was going on and way too fast. Leaving. Vacation. Guestroom. Axel.

Axel.

"I know what I need!" I declared, "Chocolate and a rom-com! That'll get my thought off of…certain things. To the TV!"

I started dashing over to the TV set when I remembered that I had to get me my chocolates first! But how?

"Light bulb! To the kitchen!"

I made it all the way out of my room before I realized that I had no idea how to find the kitchen. I scratched my head and pondered my situation. Finally, I had an idea. I thrust out my palm and commanded,

"Open sesame!"

No Dark Corridor.

"Alakazam!"

Nope.

"Bippity boppity boo!"

Nada.

"Aww man! Maybe it's because I don't have any control over the Darkness. C'mon Kennedie! Think!"

"Need some help?"

I turned around to find Demyx.

"Umm no! Obviously I was just admiring this…wallpaper! Now leave me to my admiring in peace!"

But he didn't leave. He just smiled a really nice smile and said,

"Uh-huh, that's what I said at first too. Where are you trying to get to blondie?"

"Who you calling "blondie" Mullet Boy?"

"Oooh c'mon now, that's a little harsh don't ya think?"

"Okay…sorry. It just so happens that I may or may not be looking for the kitchen."

"Alright; follow me! And don't worry about the mullet comment; I get that all the time from the other members."

Huh. Nice guy. I made a mental note to hang out with Demyx. We talked on the way to the kitchen. Apparently we were walking and not travelling by Dark Corridor. Thank goodness.

"Things got pretty crazy around here when Xemnas finally decided to let a Somebody work for the Organization. Suddenly everybody wanted to bring in a friend." Demyx told me, "And believe me when I say "friends" of Nobodies are not pleasant."

He shuddered. "We had so many Disney villains lined up outside the gates it's not even funny."

"Demyx? Can I ask something?"

"Sure."

"Are you guys, the Organization I mean, are you bad guys?"

"Well that depends on how you look at it. None of us really know what lord Xemnas' plans for us are. We just take orders from him because he promises us hearts."

"You miss your heart huh?"

"You have no idea! Playing sitar's no fun when you don't have an audience! I could play in front of a thousand Somebodies and they wouldn't even hear me!' he said sadly.

I patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll get your heart back soon Dem. Can I call you Dem?"

At this he brightened.

"Sweet! Yeah, Dem works! Hey, we're here!"

Sure enough, we stood in front of the giant kitchen doors.

"And where would I find the chocolate?"

"There are labels on all the cupboards."

"You're not coming in?"

"Umm…no."

"Why not?"

"Gotta go!"

Before I knew it, Demyx had fled out of sight. Fine then. I could operate on my own. Noooooo problem. I pushed open the door and gazed lovingly at the gorgeous kitchen in front of me. It smelled of something delicious that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I roamed in a food induced trance past the rows of cupboards, completely oblivious to the world around me.

Which is why I didn't hear the hulking figure come up behind me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi readers! Hope you've been enjoying the holiday season! I send out a late Merry Christmas to all of you! Thanks again to all my loyal readers; you guys are great! And don't forget to review!**

"Who goes there?" a voice boomed behind me.

I turned and was about to say that _I_ "goes there" but I kept my mouth shut once I looked at who I was dealing with.

He stood even taller than Axel, maybe seven feet tall. His hair was jet black and fell in long dreadlocks. But most frightening was the weapon he held in his hand. It looked like a giant, _very_ sharp purple spear. He looked like he could use it too. I decided to choose my words carefully.

"You see sir, I was just looking for the chocolate cupboard."

"You are trespassing. Who are you? And why do you wear the cloak of the Organization?"

"My name is Kennedie. Your boss, lord Xemnas, approved me as a part-time member of Organization XIII awhile ago. I'm here-" I was going to say "on vacation" but I figured that might get me a one-way ticket out the front gates with this guy.

"I'm here on an important mission."

"I remember your name now. Yes, you were the one that caused all the upset around here. Pointless, considering we don't have hearts. Now tell me this you little _wretch,"_

Suddenly I was lifted off my feet! The man's hand closed around my throat, sending fiery pain through me. I couldn't breathe! No! He needed to let go! I couldn't breathe! Panic! Needed air!

"Why would Xemnas entrust the likes of you with such an important mission when he has perfectly capable Nobodies to do it? I think you're lying to me. A shame for you, considering you can die."

Speak! Needed to answer! He needed to put me down! Answer! Only way to get free!

"Please…" I croaked out.

"**XALDIN**!" a voice roared from the kitchen entrance.

Xaldin spun around with me still in his grasp. Hurt! He was hurting me! Needed to breathe! Person at door! Who? Could save me!

"Help!" I murmured with the last of the air in my lungs. It took all my effort to push it past Xaldin's giant hand and out of my mouth.

"Put-her-down." The voice demanded in a dangerously quiet tone.

Haze. Still needed air, yes? No. No more air. Didn't need air. Just sleep. Red. Why red? Red in doorway. Don't need saving Red. Red could go now.

Floor. Hmm, the floor was here now too. Right on my nose.

Air!

Oh my gosh! Air! I sucked in air to refill my lungs but cried out at the pain in my throat. Even without Xaldin's hand constricting it anymore, my windpipe felt crushed and every breath hurt. I'd felt this before. The time I battled the cobra Heartless in the basement of my school it had wrapped its tail around my throat. It was not a feeling I had wanted to relive. I had enough sense about me now to survey what was happening.

Axel! Axel was the red I had seen! He had his chakrams out and he seemed to be threatening Xaldin. I hoped this wouldn't turn into a fight. Xaldin had a size, weight, and strength advantage. Axel didn't even have speed on this guy; he'd had me in the air before I'd even known what was happening. They were equally fast. And both equally willing to kill.

This was a thought that scared me. I didn't like to think about Axel's assassin side. I'd only seen him kill Heartless. I hoped that he didn't have that same look on his face when he eliminated a person.

"Xaldin you know full well that she has as much right to be here as anybody! She defeated that giant Heartless on Earth! Do you remember how many hearts it was hoarding?"

"Yes but I also seem to remember Xemnas excusing your interest in the Earth Keyhole during the battle." Here Xaldin started to feign innocence. He didn't do it very well. "It couldn't have been that you wanted it sealed could it? After all, a sealed Keyhole means less Heartless and less hearts for the Organization. Why, if you had anything to do with the sealing of a Keyhole; that would be treason!" Xaldin lowered his voice.

"And we know what happens to traitors don't we Axel?"

Axel stared the bigger man down and replied,

"Traitors are eliminated."

"Correct. I'm glad to hear we're on the same page. Or I would be glad, if I had a heart. So here's what I propose: eliminate the girl, being that she is the only witness to your misguided interests at that time. Then the castle will no longer be defiled by a Somebody, and your reputation will remain safe."

"As usual Xaldin, your plan sucks!" Axel said and knocked Xaldin to the ground with one of his chakrams.

Xaldin looked up and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Did Nobodies bleed? I didn't know. I figured his nose shoulda been flowing pretty good right about now. So I deduced that Nobodies did not bleed. I guess you need a heart to have blood right? Major component of the circulatory system and blah blah science class stuff blah blah blah.

"You will regret that." Xaldin threatened.

Then he was gone in a void of darkness. Axel rushed over to me and helped me up.

"Wow you guys are all about foreshadowing huh?" I muttered.

"Meh, he won't do anything."

"Well considering I almost just got choked to death _without_ any warning, I'd be pretty scared _with_ one."

"Yeah about that, are you okay?"

"My throat hurts less now but I think I'm gonna forget the chocolate for now."

He looked at me quizzically.

"Chocalate?"

"Nevermind. Thanks for helping me out. Again."

"Hey it's no problem. But you trespassed in Xaldin's kitchen for _chocolate?_"

I nodded.

"Ugh. Apparently somebody was not paying attention during the tour."

"I was! Honest!"

"So then you heard the part where I said, "This is the kitchen. Do **not under any circumstances** go into the kitchen alone!" right?"

I smiled sheepishly, deciding it was better to take the blame for this one.

"Um I mighta missed that part."

He looked at me sternly for a moment, and then seemed to remember who he was dealing with and chuckled.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"How about bring me some chocolates later when I'm feeling better?" I asked hopefully.

"After what just happened, you're going off in the castle by yourself _again!?_"

"It would appear that way, yes."

He sighed.

"Fine. But just remember what I said. Don't go near Xemnas' study, the Round Room, Saix's room, Xaldin's room or **the kitchen**. Got it memorized?"

"Yes **dad.**"

"Oh you're going to have an attitude about it then eh?"

Suddenly he had me in a headlock and was dragging me out of the room.

"OW OW OW! My throat!" I yelled.

He immediately let go and studied me in concern.

"Sorry! Are you okay?"

"Haha! Gotcha!" I exclaimed and ran out of the room with Axel at my heels.


	6. Chapter 6

**I can't believe Christmas vacation is almost over! Soon it'll be time for exam reviews! Gasp! Anyway, enough of that; here's chapter six!**

Axel caught up to me pretty quickly. He ran around in front of me by a staircase so I had no choice but to stop. Then he poked me in the shoulder.

"Tag."

"Congrats, you caught me. Now if you don't mind I-"

"Axel you have orders from lord Xemnas to report to the Round Room immediately." ordered a monotone voice from behind Axel. I peered around his shoulder to see a dude with long blue hair. And earrings.

Hmmm. **Dude** with _long, blue_ hair and _earrings._

Very manly.

Axel turned to face the man.

"Saix, is this the kind of "immediately" that means go now or the kind of immediately that you bugged me about last time, which was more of a "Xemnas wants an update on your missions sometime this **month" **kind of immediately**?"**

"Did I stutter? I believe I said immediately."

"Yeesh. I'll go then. You used to be more fun y'know."

When Axel walked past Saix, he checked him in the shoulder. It was hard to tell if it was playful or aggressive. There was definitely a history between these two.

When Axel was gone, Saix just stared at me with amber eyes. It was kinda scary. I decided to break the tension.

"So you've known Axel for a long time then?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Well he's my erm- friend! So it _is_ kind of my "concern" but whatever. See you around!"

I turned around and began to walk away from when he spoke again.

"You are staying in the castle for a prolonged period of time?"

"Umm, yeah. Axel said it would be okay. Apparently some of you guys think otherwise though." I said meekly.

"Yes, well you must understand; Nobodies don't have hearts and so have no use for Somebodies. Even _Axel_ does not have a heart and so cannot truly care for you."

Whoa. Where did that come from? Ouch.

"So you're saying you guys can't care about people?"

"Nor feel any emotion. We are completely void of the feelings that cripple you Somebodies: sympathy, regret, sorrow, longing, hope… _love._"

"Um what's that supposed to mean?" I was getting really uncomfortable.

He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.

"Oh I think you know exactly what it means. _Enjoy_ your stay." And with that he was gone, swallowed up by darkness.

Normally I'd just be able to brush off comments from someone like Saix. But what he said really got to me. I didn't want to think about the implications of his words. It was like he'd seen right into my thoughts and targeted the things that made me vulnerable. I had only encountered a few people who could do that: find a person's weaknesses and then destroy them inside. No, I wasn't destroyed. Not from a thirty second conversation. But worried? Confused? Admittedly, yes, I was both of those things.

Now I needed chocolate and a movie **desperately**. But I was still chocolate-less! I mentally pictured all the Organization members Axel had told me were left and tried to imagine who was the most likely to have a chocolate stash in their room.

And not try to strangle me if I asked to have some.

Axel might have some but I was more confused about him than ever. I wasn't anxious to see him again. I had enough conflicting thoughts in my head already; I didn't need him screwing up my brain any more.

Xemn- no. Absolutely not.

Saix- you'd have to shove a feeding tube down his throat for _that_ dude to eat chocolate.

Xaldin- NO! NEVER AGAIN!

Luxord- Nah, I already owed him.

Xigbar? I'd never met him. Axel had said he had a warped sense of humour and had some kind of fixation on the expression "As if!" but generally was an okay guy. Maybe he'd have some chocolate!

I strolled back to the bedrooms and began checking out the doors. Xigbar's was the first one I found. Made sense, since he was only a step below Xemnas on the supremacy scale. I took a deep breath and knocked lightly.

"Huh? What? Who's there?" came a sleepy voice from inside.

"Hi, uh Xigbar? It's just Kennedie, you know, the one who Axel recruited?"

"Kennedie?" he muttered to himself along with a couple other words pertaining to being woken up in the middle of his nap.

"I was wondering if I could come in."

"As if! Whaddya want?"

"So sorry to bug you while you were sleeping but I was just wondering if you had any-"

It was at this point that I realized my request was kinda strange. Considering I'd never met the guy.

"Any what? Spit it out!"

"Well could you just open the door?"

There was a pause, and then the sound of boots thumping on the floor and the door opened.

Okay, Xigbar screamed "creepy old man"; even though he didn't look to be any older than fifty. He was shorter than some of the other members I'd met and had a long greasy black ponytail streaked with grey.

Gag.

"So you're Kennedie?"

"Yup that's me! So I was wondering if-"

"Well I can kind of see why Axel never shuts up about you."

Okay, creepy. And also embarrassing. I blushed like crazy at the thought of Axel telling people about me.

Wait, why did I care? _Did_ I care? Ugh, more confusing thoughts! I banished them to the far recesses of my mind.

"Excuse me?" I asked indignantly.

He just laughed his husky old man laugh at me.

"I like you kid! You've got spunk!"

"Yeah well this "spunk" is not appreciatin' the way you're talking to me!"

"Hey cool it girlie! I can see why you and Hot Head get along! Now what is it you wanted?"

I eyed him warily.

"Chocolate."

He looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide if I was serious or not. I stared him down. I would not be denied my chocolaty goodness.

"I haven't had any use for chocolate in a long time. Go see Demyx. He'll have some, no doubt. And don't come by my room again.

I tried to mimic Axel's smirk and replied,

"As if!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey readers! I just wanted to give a shout out to KH777 and B.T. Emmett for always reviewing! Thanks a bunch! Hope you guys are all doing well!**

The door clicked shut as Xigbar retreated back into his room. So Dem had chocolate huh? He _did_ owe me after ditching me by the kitchen. I didn't think he'd intended for anything bad to happen to me; he was just saving his own skin. While that made him a coward, it didn't make him malicious. I was starting to get tired after having been up since midnight for my shift so I decided I would pay Demyx a quick visit then fall asleep on my bed while watching a movie. I strolled down the monochromatic hallway until I found Demyx's room. It wasn't hard to find because of the sweet melody of what sounded like an acoustic guitar coming out from under the doorway. Without knocking, I quietly opened the door.

Demyx sat on his bed holding a blue sitar. He plucked gently away at the strings, coaxing a lovely song out of them. When he finished, I started clapping.

"Whoa! Didn't see you come in!" he exclaimed. I'd clearly scared the wits out of him.

"Didn't _see_ me come in, or didn't _expect_ me to come in? Did you think Xaldin was going to get me?"

His face paled.

"Uh- about that…"

"It's okay. I probably would have done the same thing." _Not._

"Really?"

"No. But I forgive you anyway."

He was ashamed and stared down at the floor.

"Gosh, I wish there was some way I could make it up to you."

"Actually…"  
>******************************************************************************************************************************************<p>

"That was _too_ easy." I mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate. Demyx had immediately offered me the choice of any chocolates in his stash once I told him why I'd come there in the first place. After that...

"_What was that song you were playing?"_

"_I wrote it myself! It's called While My Sitar Gently Weeps."_

"_Heh heh, how original. It was very pretty."_

"_Gee thanks. None of the other Organization members like my songs. I really thought "AH AH Soap in My Eyes" was going to be a real hit."_

"_Keh keh keh."_

"_What!?"_

"_Nothing. Goodnight Dem. You have a real talent."_

I arrived back at my room with a box of assorted chocolates and flopped down on my bed. The TV remote was on my bedside table. I flicked on the TV.

"What is _this?_" I muttered.

There was a complicated main menu on the screen. Options like "Mission Reports" and "Updates" were available.

But no TV shows.

I moaned in frustration. Whatever. I was starting to get a really bad headache anyway. I assumed they didn't have Advil in The World That Never was and just decided to sleep it off.

"Kennedie! Wake up!"

Somebody was shaking me. I opened my eyes groggily.

"Where's the fire?" I asked with a rusty voice.

"Wake up!"

Now that I was awake, I registered that Axel was hovering over me and the morning light of Kingdom Hearts was streaming in through my window. I smiled up at my friend.

"Well good morning."

I stretched my arms and back and moaned, shaking off any remaining drowsiness.

"Wait- why are you in my room!? Get off of my bed, gosh! Did you even knock?"

"My manners are the least of our worries."

I laughed good naturedly.

"You sure? Actually, you're right. Your _hair_ is the main priority here. Can you say bedhead?"

It was true. His usually smooth red spikes were sticking out in every direction. The crazed look in his eyes completed the look.

Wait a minute. Crazed look?

"Axel what's wrong?"

"Xaldin's gone!"

"Like, gone as in missing or gone as in…" I trailed off. I didn't really want to finish.

"I don't know. His room is a mess. It looks like he didn't go down without a fight. Not that I thought he would. He's nowhere to be found. It's the strangest thing."

I pushed Axel away, threw off my blankets, and jumped out of bed.

"I need to see it. We can try to figure it out from there. But first I want a change of clothes. I've spent 24 hours in this cloak."

He just looked at me like he had no clue why this was a problem. Gosh, the guys here probably went a week without changing clothes! Finally he said,

"Larxene's old room is at the end of the hall."

I took that as "Fend for yourself."

"Fine. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

Usually I was a morning person, but not under these circumstances. At least my headache was gone. I checked all the doors until I came to one that had a sign printed in blood red ink.

"_LARXENE'S ROOM! KEEP OUT!"_

The door was ajar so I just pushed it open.

Apparently Larxene had disliked the gray in the castle as much as me. The downside was that she seemed to have an affinity for black instead. _Everything_ was black except for a wilted pink rose lying on her desk. _Wonder where that came from_ I thought. I quickly found her closet and opened it to find dozens of identical Organization cloaks. They smelled kind of like… ozone. As if they'd been left out in a lightning storm. I reached all the way to the back of the closet for a cloak, hoping it might smell less than the other ones. The zipper was undone so I put it on like a coat and then zipped it up.

I wondered if it had occurred to anyone what would happen if someone ever decided to pull their zipper.

I was about to exit the room when a noticed something in one of the cloak's pockets banging against my hip when I walked.

"Huh? What's this?"

I pulled out a small pink book and chuckled in delight.

"Oh! No way."

Usually I would be completely against reading another girl's diary but… it wasn't like she was going to catch me. After I got past at least ten pages of threats directed at whoever was reading her diary, Larxene _finally_ got to writing an entry.

_Dear Stupid Little Book,_

_It was my birthday today. It's been a year since I joined Organization XIII. Marly was the only one who remembered and he gave me this book. Of course it had to be pink! Doesn't that idiot know I like black? And all the other imbeciles thought they were too important to bother remembering my birthday. Even Axel. Oh Axel. How I love a man that can kill! You should see his face when he takes someone out! Totally, wonderfully blank! It makes me positively __**giddy! **__Well I wouldn't want to give Marluxia the satisfaction of me actually using his pitiful excuse for a present so I'll have to throw it out now._

_Larxene_

"No. No no no no no." I whispered. My fears had been confirmed. Axel was a true killer. I didn't want to read more, but I felt as if some force was making me continue.

_Dear Stupid Little Book,_

_Okay so I decided not to throw this out after all. It's kind of nice to be able to say nasty things in secret. That way I can talk about anybody! So today the most delightful thing happened! Both Marly __**and**__ Axel paid attention to me! Marly asked me to take over the Organization with him! What a charmingly devious man he is! And Axel was given a mission with me. During the mission, while I was taking out some Heartless, I caught him staring at me. He had that smirk on his face…_

_Larxene_

"What are you doing?'

I spun around to find Axel in the doorway while slamming the book shut.

"Axel…"

I searched for words to ask about what I'd found. Wanted him to tell me they weren't true. Wanted to be reassured that he was my friend and, heart or not, cared about me.

But somehow I knew I couldn't have what I wanted this time.

**That's all for today! Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everybody! If you're reading this I would just like to say thanks! It means you liked this story enough to read this far! Remember, I'm still open to plot suggestions so just PM me if you want a little piece of yourself in this story! Happy reading!**

"Where did you get that from?" Axel asked curiously, eyeing Larxene's diary in my trembling hand.

"I-uh found it in the pocket of this cloak."

I figured it would be best to just tell the truth. What did I have to hide anyway?

_Jealousy. _My mind whispered. Except it wasn't _my_ thought. At least, that's what I told myself.

"What is it?" Axel wondered, and reached to take the diary from me.

"No!" I yelled and smacked his hand away. I was scared, not angry. He rubbed his hand. I think it was more in shock that I'd hit him than pain. At least it wasn't as bad as that time I slapped him…

"Why can't I see it?" he demanded to know. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward.

"It's Larxene's diary!"

"Oh."

"Exactly."

"Well now you _have_ to let me read it!" he said mischievously.

"No. This was never meant for your eyes. Trust me."

He grinned. "So there _is_ somethin' about me in it!"

"Look, I only read the first two entries. I don't know what else is in there."

He looked at me for a moment. He continued to hold eye contact until he finally said,

"Are you… trying to protect me?"

I hadn't really considered why I didn't want him to read it. I guess I _was_ trying to protect him. I wasn't sure if a reminder of Larxene would be painful for him or not. But with what I had found out about his true nature…

I thrust the journal at him and it made a satisfying _smack!_ on his chest.

"No. Obviously we both know you don't need anybody's protection. Read away Spiky. I'll be trying to figure out what happened to Xaldin. Join me if you _care_ to."

Axel looked at me with a bewildered… almost _hurt_ look on his face. But according to what Saix said and what Larxene wrote: he was unfeeling. I willed myself to be the same and push down the feeling in my gut that told me I had done something horribly unfair. I held my head high and strode toward Xaldin's room, only to be halted by Demyx smashing into me as he exited his own room. He held a box of chocolates, which had been smushed beyond recognition from our collision.

Poor chocolates.

Oh wait! Demyx! Right!

"Sorry about that!" he apologized. A pink blush was spreading over his face.

"Hey don't worry about it. Did you know Xaldin went missing?"

His eyes widened.

"No!"

"You wanna come investigate with me?"

"Yeah sure," he looked down at the chocolates as if suddenly remembering why they were there, "Aw man! These were supposed to be for you!"

"For- me?"

"Yeah. Aw I suck at these kinds of things. Well at least the song can't get broken."

"Song? What're you talking about Dem?" I laughed.

"I might have, and I'm not saying I _did_, but I might have written a song for you. Maybe."

"Aw! That's so sweet! Wait- why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Umm…"

"Kennedie wait up!"

I groaned. Axel was back. Demyx didn't seem very happy about his arrival either.

"Why are you here?" Demyx challenged.

Axel raised a scarlet eyebrow.

"Kennedie here and I were going to figure out where Xaldin went."

"Hey! _I_ was going to help her look for Xaldin!"

Oh geez. I realized then what was happening. It seemed as though Demyx had become infatuated with me since I complimented his music the night before.

"Kay well you guys can both come help figure it out. I know Xaldin tried to kill me, so we might actually be better off without him, but this just seems really weird."

"Yeah." Axel said.

"Yeah! **So **weird! I totally agree with you!" Demyx schmoozed.

And no, schmoozed is probably not a word. But I felt like I was getting enthusiasm _schmoozed_ all over me. Like, that's the sound it would make. Just picture it. There ya go. See? Schmoozed should definitely be a word.

Upon entering Xaldin's room there really wasn't much to see. There were books all over the room seeing as they were the only loose object Xaldin appeared to have. We searched every inch of space for some kind of clue. We found nothing. Axel however, picked up on something.

"I can smell a lot of Darkness in here." He remarked.

"So maybe Xaldin teleported somewhere?" I suggested.

"No. It's a lot stronger than that. Something really powerful was in here."

I rubbed my throat and frowned.

"Well I'd say our friend Xaldy qualifies as "really powerful"."

"This smells different than Organization Darkness."

"Holy!" I threw my hands up in the air, "How different can Darkness be?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Yeah! I can tell you all about it over dinner!" Demyx offered.

I laughed. "I'll check my schedule, but I think I can fit it in."

Axel looked taken aback.

"Really? You must be desperate for company." He joked.

"I had a hunch that you might curl up with a good book tonight," I began and then directed my focus to Demyx, "So I'm free tonight. But let's be clear about this right now; this is _not_ a date."

"Call it what you like! I've got myself a date!" Demyx hollered and then he fist pumped. I held up a hand,

"Uh-"

But he had already left the room triumphantly swaggering.

"Oh boy" I muttered.

"So you're stooping to Demyx's level now?"

"Don't sound so amused. I just said it's not a date."

"You and him. Having dinner together. What would you call that then?"

"Pity."

"Oh my, well aren't you _cold!_ I'm impressed."

Axel stepped closer. It was a silent taunt. I wouldn't give in.

"Yeah I bet you are impressed. Oh wait, what was that Saix said? Right! You can't feel!"

"Wha- Saix said that?"

"Yup."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

"Nah, I've got a whole list of reasons now!" I shouted.

"So you _have_ been avoiding me!"

Grr. He'd caught me. I couldn't believe I'd let him talk circles around me.

"Whatever. I'll find out what happened to Xaldin myself." I muttered and stomped angrily out of the room.

But not fast enough to miss the satisfied smirk on Axel's face.

**Don't forget to review and pass on to your friends if you like this story!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello readers! Just wanted to encourage any of you going into exams for school soon (you probably aren't but around here school's set up a bit differently) Best of luck to all of you!**

I passed the rest of the hours until dinner in my room. If the thoughts in my head were a whirlwind before, I was now suffering from a thought hurricane of apocalyptic force. True, a huge part of me hated myself for treating Axel the way I did. He had been so good to me for how long and I just turned on him? But then another part of me would argue that he couldn't feel emotion and what kind of friend would that make him? Then I would argue that Saix seemed like a jerk and could have been wrong. But **then** the thought that if given the order, Axel would kill me would creep in and terrify me. Around and around my head the thoughts went and I still couldn't decide if I was going to ask Axel to send me home or do some more investigating into the whole heart thing. There was still the issue with Xaldin's disappearance too! Ugh. I needed a vacation from my vacation. Finally it was dinnertime.

Dinner with Demyx. How did it go, you ask? Well it was… interesting to say the least.

"_Wow this dining hall is really pretty!"_

"_Yeah, but nobody ever uses it."_

"_How come?"_

"_We're always on the go. Missions, hiding from Saix, antagonizing unrealistically optimistic teenage boys."_

"_What?"_

"_Nevermind that!"_

"_Ooookay… So what are we eating?"_

"_Oops. Didn't think of that one."_

"_So there's no food?"_

"_Heh, guess not. But anyway I __**have**__ to tell you about this one song I wrote! It's called _"Why is there Tacos in My Sock Drawer?"

That's pretty much how the whole evening went. Demyx could play his sitar well, but his lyric writing skills needed some serious work. Apparently his all time favourite songs included: _Dropping Ketchup Bottles On My Toe, The Annoying People With More Than Ten Items At The Express Check-Out, and POP ROCKS POP ROCKS POPPING IN MY MOUTH WOO! (_Yes, these are **all** song titles of his.) I arrived at my room exhausted from the effort of smiling and nodding at everything Demyx said. I was about to flop down on my bed and sleep off yet another headache that had crept up on me when I saw Larxene's diary on my bed. Hmm, Axel must have left it. Why? I picked it up and just sat on my bed staring at it. The minutes ticked by and yet I still could not decide if I wanted to see what other horrors were in there.

_Read it._

Huh? The thought had come unbidden into my mind; a product of my curiosity. I knew as soon as I thought it that I was going to keep reading. I started at the third entry while my head throbbed.

_Dear Stupid Little Book,_

_I am writing from Castle Oblivion; one of Organization XIII's facilities. I hate it here. Everything is so white. It should be black. However there is an upside: both Axel and Marluxia have been assigned here with me. Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion are here too, unfortunately. Vexen has been meddling in affairs that he should not be. No matter, I suppose I will be done with him soon enough when Marly and I take over the Organization. I am starting to doubt Axel's loyalty to the plan. Marluxia and I let him in on it because he's always seemed to have trouble accepting orders. Oh, he follows them, but he always gets this look on his face. I detect a soft spot in him after all. Especially with this Sora kid who's travelling through Castle Oblivion. Ah well, if Axel turns out to be loyal to Xemnas after all…_

_Well then I guess I'll just have to kill him._

_Larxene_

_Dear Stupid Little Book,_

_AARGH! Axel is going to pay! I challenged that baby Sora and decided to let him win since Axel told me not to break him and what does Axel say? "It looks to me like you just plain lost." I am too angry to even write._

_Larxene_

_Dear Stupid Little Book,_

_I witnessed something __**very**__ interesting today. Very interesting indeed. Marluxia tricked Vexen into challenging Sora. Meanwhile, I watched the whole thing unseen. Vexen started to tell Sora __**way**__ too much; I had underestimated his intelligence because he had figured out our betrayal against the Organization. Luckily Marluxia told Axel to eliminate the traitor, meaning Vexen. Axel showed up and this is the delightfully __**spine-tingling**__ conversation that followed:_

"_Axel…why?"_

"_I came to stop you from talking too much.-by eliminating your existence."_

"_No! Don't do it!"_

"_We are just Nobodies who have no one to be, yet we still are. But now you can be nothing instead of just being a Nobody. You're off the hook."_

"_No! Please don't! I don't want to-"_

"_Goodbye."_

_And then Axel killed him. I can't believe I ever doubted him. He might even be more ruthless than me! The plan will soon be finished. The memory manipulating witch Namine has deceived Sora enough that we will soon be able to use him. And when that day comes __**I **__will be in charge._

_Larxene_

I flipped through the whole book searching for more entries. But it became clear that the last entry was the one about Axel killing Vexen.

"So now you know the truth."

I sighed. There was nothing left in me to even be angry. Axel had come in at some point and stood next to me. I had been reading so intently that I hadn't even noticed.

"Why did you do it?" I whispered.

"I had to. They were getting suspicious of me. Ultimately both Larxene and Marluxia were killed and I'd like to think I had a hand in it. I let Namine go."

"The girl you guys were basically holding hostage?"

"Yes."

I spun around, my senses coming back to me. I was no longer numb but on fire!

"You killed people Axel! How does that not bother you!?"

"If you calm down I'll explain." He said quietly.

"And then what? Kill me because I know too much?"

The breath came out of him like I'd punched him.

"No! I-how can you even say that? I would never…"

"Yeah right. So how many people have you killed that I don't know about? Three? Five? Ten? Tell me!" I yelled, almost in hysterics.

Suddenly he grabbed my shoulders forcefully and all my bravado fled.

"No! Please no! I take it back! I'm sorry!" I pleaded desperately.

My heart hammered in my chest and the only thing that registered in my mind was fear. No betrayal. No anger. No sadness, Just fear. I thought for sure he was going to kill me. His mouth parted slightly in what looked like shock.

"You really _do_ think- I can't believe this. What have I done?" he whispered. Then he sat down hard on the edge of my bed, defeated. I realized he was not going to kill me. He had just been trying to get my attention. But the fact still remained…

"Yes, I've killed people. And no, I didn't care much. But Sora changed everything. Somehow he made me _feel_ again. Maybe I'm growing a heart. Who knows? I realized after I sent Namine to save Sora that I was actually enjoying their drama. Once I could feel again- at least, somewhat: I thought about everything I'd done. It's haunted me. And Larxene…"

"Were you and her a thing?" I asked bluntly.

He looked surprised.

"Hm? No!"

"But she wrote about you staring at her and stuff!"

His faced turned red.

"Well she was kinda the only girl around. And it's not like she was ugly."

"But you didn't actually like her?"

"Technically I couldn't. And there was also the whole matter of her being a psycho to take into consideration."

"I- I just don't know what to think. I feel like I've been on such an emotional roller coaster since I got here. I have so many questions."

He patted the spot next to him, indicating I should sit down.

"You can ask all your questions in a second. I have so many wrongs I want to make right. And I'm going to start with you. I'm sorry this vacation hasn't been what I promised. I'm sorry I never told you about my past with the Organization as soon as I had an opportunity. I should have told you back at your school."

I sat down.

"I forgive you. And I'm sorry for judging you before I had all the facts. I should have known that you had a heart. Maybe not at first and that's why you killed people. But now I think you're all good." I smiled then, "After all, you have to have a heart to-"

Suddenly my head throbbed painfully. I cried out.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" Axel asked.

I held my head and grimaced.

"I just have a headache. I need to sleep."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe Xaldin will be back by then." Axel said.

"M-kay." I muttered.

Finally at peace, I gave in to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while! But I'm back now! Read, review, and enjoy!**

I awoke the next morning with no head ache and felt well rested. Good. Now I could start actually enjoying my vacation. I wondered what things Axel had planned. It was so good to be back on speaking terms with him. I had never felt as alone and vulnerable as when I was at odds with him. I had only been in The World That Never Was for two full days, which meant I had five left to relax. I arose from my bed, let out a big yawn, and stretched. This was so nice: me and one of my best friends on vacation with nothing to do except-

"DUCK!"

Well that wasn't _exactly _what I had been hoping for but-

"Wha? OW!"

A Nerf dart hit me right in the forehead! I went cross-eyed trying to glare at the suction cup stuck to my face. Meanwhile, Axel stood in the doorway holding two large Nerf guns and laughing his head off.

"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up McRedhead!" I said while plucking the dart off my head.

"That's _Spiky_ McRedhead to you!" he corrected, remembering his old nickname that I'd given him when we'd originally met.

"So what's with the assault the minute I wake up huh?"

"That's the plan for today! I'm tellin' ya, there is nothing more fun than running around the castle shooting everyone you see…and then running away _really_ quickly."

He winked and handed me a gun.

"This is your plan for the day?"

"Yup. It's a favourite hobby of mine actually. Lots of spare time, mixed with a giant castle equals the perfect opportunity for a game of hide and go shoot."

I laughed.

"If you say so. Who's our first target?"

"The same guy who's gonna want in on the action after we take him out."

"Xigbar?"

"Bingo!"

"Now this _is_ strange…" Axel mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Xigbar was nowhere to be found. Saix had told us that Xigbar had not been given any missions. He should've been in the castle and yet he was gone. We decided to investigate further in Xigbar's room.

"Whew! Oh gosh that is- GACK!"

Axel began choking as soon as we walked in the room. Naturally, I did the courageous thing and promptly started panicking.

"What? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Need…fresh…air!" he choked out.

"Okay! Alright! Um, let's just…there ya go. Keep going; we're almost out."

I helped him hobble out of the room seeing as he was doubled over in a hacking fit. Once we stood in the hall and the coughing subsided, I asked,

"What was that all about?"

"It reeked in there!"

I was puzzled. I hadn't smelled anything unusual.

"No it didn't. It smelled fine. Okay not exactly _fine_, kind of like a mix between really strong aftershave and gunpowder mixed with armpit. But other than that it was just delightful!"

"Delightful…right. Nah the reason you couldn't smell it is 'cause it was darkness."

My stomach dropped and I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Wh-what?"

"The _same_ darkness that I smelled in Xaldin's room, except a heck of a lot stronger. Whatever took them was here very recently."

"So now we've decided they were _kidnapped_!?"

"Or killed. Whichever you prefer."

"Your inhumanity will never stop scaring me."

"That's probably a good thing."

"So what's the plan now? If this thing has taken out two Organization members, who's to say it won't keep going? And it's not like we can watch people while they're sleeping!"

He grinned a really creepy smile.

"Why not? I do it all the time."

"Ahh! You really need a hobby!" I said, horrified.

A moment passed. He just smiled down at me.

"Wait you've never- at my house?"

His smile widened. So did my eyes.

"Oh no, no no no. You didn't!"

"I may or may not have. It's just funny watching you squirm."

"Seriously though! You wouldn't stoop to that level of creepiness right?"

"Nah. I was just kidding. But you should see how red your face is right now."

"Grr…so what are we going to do to protect everyone else?"

"Two words. Guess."

"Jail them?"

"Nope."

"Stay awake."

"Sort of. But, no."

"Creep them? I thought I already said that wasn't an option!"

"Still no."

"I don't know then," I said, exasperated, "What is our two word plan?"

He grinned.

"Slumber party."

**Sorry about the short chapter; the creative juices just aren't flowing that great today. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Back to back chapter posts for you guys! Enjoy!**

"A slumber party?" I asked in disbelief, "Oh shucks! I forgot to pack a pillow!"

"You're mocking me aren't you?"

"Just a bit. How do you think we're going to convince Saix, Luxord, and Xemnas to come to a slumber party?"

"Well the main part of my plan is the part where we don't _tell_ them it's a slumber party. Except Demyx. We'll tell him it's a slumber party."

"What will we say to get them to come?"

"We'll tell Xemnas and Saix there's an emergency in the Living Room and we'll tell Luxord that, oh I don't know, what do you think? He won't come for an emergency."

"How about we tell him that we just installed a slot machine in the Living Room?"

"Perfect! Man am I a genius or what?"

"Or what."

"I'm just going to ignore your jealousy because you didn't come up with the slot machine idea. Your jealous rage is understandable. Don't worry, I forgive you."

"Hallelujah."

"Kay let's go "sound the alarm"."

We ran out of Xigbar`s room and down the gray hall to Xemnas`study. Axel took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"It doesn`t sound panicked enough!" I hissed.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"That`s better."

The door opened and I saw Xemnas in person for the first time. He was tall with broad shoulders and had very tanned skin. But here`s the deal: his hair was white. _Hellew Legolas._

"Lord Xemnas!" Axel said, making his breathing sound heavy, "There's an emergency in the Living Room! Come quickly!"

Xemnas looked suspicious. Uh-oh. Time to step in.

"Please sir! We need your help! We can't handle it on our own!" I pleaded.

He regarded me as if he was just seeing me now. He looked at me quizzically.

"And you are?"

Wow. His voice! He kinda sounded like…

"Can you just do me a favour and say "Luke, I am your father"?"

Axel snorted to cover up laughter. Xemnas didn't seem to get the joke, which I had been counting on. He just looked at me strangely.

"Who-are-you?"

"My name's Kennedie."

"Ah yes, the one I recruited for part-time missions."

"Yes sir! But right now we really need your help!"

He didn't say anything but just nodded solemnly and warped away.

"High five!" I yelled.

Axel did not look impressed.

"The Darth Vadar joke made him suspicious. If this goes South, I'm blaming you." He muttered.

"One down, three to go!"

We found Saix in the library poring over some book. The library was amazing! The walls were lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling and there were tables with lamps in the centre of the room. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high! The air smelled like dusty carpet and there was no sound in the room except for Saix turning a page. His hair rustled as he looked up at us.

"Axel."

"Hey I'm here too!" I pointed out.

He scowled.

"Indeed."

"Sai, we need you to come to the Living Room right away! There's an emergency!" Axel said.

Saix did not look convinced.

"Did you set fire to the couch again?"

"No! I'm serious! You need to come with us!"

"Why?"

"You don't believe me?"

"Was it not you who once asked "Do either of us have the heart to believe anyone?"?"

"Okay well just pretend that you do and come with us! We can't handle this on our own!"

Saix sighed in disgust and resignation.

"Fine. I will go," he stood and got up in Axel's face, "but be well aware that I do _not_ believe a single word you have said." And with that, he stormed away angrily.

"That guy seriously needs to take a chill pill." I remarked.

"He wasn't always like that." Axel said with a hint of sadness.

"He wasn't?"

"No. We actually used to be best friends. Back when we were Somebodies."

"Oh. I'm sorry you guys ended up like this. But I'm sure you'll get your hearts back someday."

"Yeah." Axel replied, but it didn't sound like he really believed it.

"Just out of curiosity, once Xemnas teleported to the Living Room, wouldn't he leave because he'd see that there was no emergency?"

Axel smirked.

"Theoretically yes. So I installed a barrier of light around the room. They can teleport _in_ but they can't get back out."

I grinned.

"Ingenious."

"I know."

"You're supposed to say "thank you"."

"I'm supposed to do a lot of things."

"Let's just go find Luxord and Dem."

"Okay, but this time we're going _my_ way."

Before I could protest, Axel grabbed my wrist and we teleported. It still hadn't gotten any more enjoyable since the last time I'd done it. The swirling darkness made my head swim and throb and my heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest. Finally we emerged from the Dark Corridor and Axel looked at me strangely.

"What?" I demanded to know.

"-It's nothing. I thought I… yeah never mind."

Suddenly a tremor ran through me! I felt like I'd gotten an electric shock! I felt something rising inside me, like cold terror ripping through my body.

"NO!" I cried out.

I fought the feeling back, pressing my fear down until I could think again. I collapsed against Axel because my knees had suddenly turned to jelly. I was terrified I was going to pass out. Thankfully he caught me and supported me before I fell to the floor.

"That was a bit strange. I didn't realize the darkness would affect you so much. Sorry about that. I guess we'll just walk everywhere from now on." Axel said.

"I think…I just had a panic attack." I said quietly. It had happened before, but never this bad.

"You're okay now. Everything's fine." he said calmly while patting my back.

"OKAY! Too much! Wayyyyyy too much closeness! Hands-off! No more touching!" I yelled frantically, while recoiling. For a second we just stood there awkwardly staring at each other, and then I cleared my throat.

"Well then. Here we are. In front of Luxord's room."

Luxord was duped easily the minute we told him about the imaginary slot machine. It was interesting meeting the man who had helped me out so much. I definitely owed him. He had platinum blond hair and a goatee. Not to mention, piercing blue eyes which had sparkled when we told him our "news". Here is Demyx's reaction when we invited him to our slumber party:

"WHEEEEEEE!" *jump jump jump* "I'll get my pillow and my sitar! This is so exciting! Hey why didn't we think to do this before man?"

Axel, Demyx, and I stopped in at the kitchen for some snacks and we also brought sleeping bags and pillows for everyone. When we arrived in the Living Room That Never Was, our company did not look very impressed.

"Axel!" Saix yelled, "What is the meaning of this!?"

"Axel, please explain yourself immediately." Xemnas ordered.

"Alright alright, you guys can cool it. There's no emergency right now, but we do have a problem on our hands. In case you haven't noticed, both Xaldin and Xigbar are missing."

There were murmurs around the room. Apparently they _hadn't_ noticed anyone was missing.

"The only information that we have is that they were both taken, or killed, at night in their rooms and whatever did it has power over the darkness even stronger than ours."

There was concern written on everyone's faces and they were hanging off of Axel's every word.

"So, our plan is to have all of you guys here in one place where we can watch you and figure out what the heck's going on."

"Aw man! No slumber party?" Demyx whined.

I took pity on him.

"Yes, Dem, it's still a slumber party." I said.

"At one o clock in the afternoon?' Luxord asked.

"Alright. So we've got some time to kill." I admitted.

There were several sighs as everyone decided to make themselves comfortable.

It was going to be a long wait.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey readers; hope you're all doing well! I'm sorry to say that I've been suffering from a massive case of writer's block and it still hasn't gone away but at this point I will just have to try and push through! I give my apologies in advance if this chapter isn't quite up to par.**

"Go fish." I mumbled.

Luxord and I had been playing cards for hours. I didn't know how to play poker or black jack so go fish was really our only option. It was now five o clock and we were all starting to get hungry. My stomach growled.

"Are you fancying a bit of grub?" Luxord asked.

"Not really. I don't eat bugs."

He raised an eyebrow at me. I called out to Axel, who had passed out on a couch,

"Axel! Wake up! It's time to bust out the snacks!"

He slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn.

"Mmm what?"

"We're hungry."

"M'kay."

Axel got up groggily and we both dug into the bags we had filled with food. The one good thing about not having Xaldin around was that we could raid the kitchen. We had packed all sorts of delicious stuff: chips and dip, chocolate covered almonds, pizza bites, peanut butter sandwiches, iced tea, soda, and even pickled eggs. Yup, pickled eggs. All these foods were picked by Axel, myself, and Demyx, which would explain the high calorie count.

"Heart attacks on a plate anybody?" I offered.

We had set out the food buffet style and the delicious aromas filled the room. Saix and Xemnas turned their noses up at our offerings but eventually got hungry enough to munch on some chips. We grazed for about an hour until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we packed up the food and went back to waiting.

"Ugh! This is so boring!" I moaned for like, the fiftieth time.

"And whose fault is that?" Saix said dryly.

"I know, I know. But this is to find out once and for all who the menace is! Before someone else gets taken!"

"I'm certain I could have come up with a better plan than imprisoning us all in here."

"Yeah? And what's that?" I challenged, getting all up in his face.

"We could have had Dusks keep watch while everybody slept and alert me at the slightest sign of danger."

"Um no thanks! Those things are creepy!"

"Did it ever occur to you that you may not be wanted here?" Saix blurted suddenly.

"Actually yes, Little Boy Blue, it _did_. But the thing is: I-don't-care. Even if Axel and Demyx are the only people here who like me, that's still enough for me to stay. What do you have against me anyway?"

We were inches apart and he just smirked. I stepped back and felt a sharp intake of breath. He had the same smile as Axel!

"It's nothing personal. You have something I want."

Okay, creepy.

"Is that so?"

"I think you know what it is."

"Dude, I'm not giving you my heart! Get your own."

He looked down at his feet.

"Well you see, that's the idea. When Kingdom Hearts is completed, we will finally exist."

I felt a pang of sympathy for him. That didn't take away from the fact that he was being a jerk though.

"That's great; but in the meantime could you try to tone down the creep-factor just a bit?"

"I do not understand. Creep-factor?"

"Never mind."

Suddenly my world went black. Someone was covering my eyes!

"Guess who?" rumbled a deep voice beside my ear.

"Hmmm, I'm thinking of a particular red-headed rogue at the moment."

"You would be correct."

He uncovered my eyes and smiled down at me.

"Sai are you bugging her?" he asked, turning towards Saix.

"No." Saix replied with absolutely no expression in his voice, "I wouldn't want to displease your little _princess_."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Axel asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Nothing at all. After all, she doesn't mean anything to you does she?"

I looked at Axel with confusion, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Saix I don't know what you're pulling, but cut it out."

"Do you care for her or not? It's a simple question Axel. Surely with no heart you can answer it easily."

Axel's eyes flamed with anger.

"That's none of your business." He spat, and then stormed away.

"Isn't it… Lea?"

Axel stopped.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, he whirled around, closed the distance between him and Saix, and delivered a clean blow to Saix's jaw.

Saix landed on his butt, stunned. He looked up at Axel for a moment then said,

"So it is true. You have grown a heart. Xemnas suspected as much. Tell me, was it her? Or was it Sora who reawakened your emotions, stirring them from your memories?"

Axel was silent for a moment. He appeared to be in shock at what he had just done. I was too. But I felt powerless to intervene; a fly on the wall.

"_That _was what this was about?"

"Indeed. I wanted to see if it was possible…" there was a moment of awkward silence, and then Saix's eyes filled with longing, "What is it like?"

Axel offered a hand to Saix and helped him up.

"I'll make sure you find out." He promised.

For the next three hours we all managed to get along and we even played a decent game of "Would you rather?" We decided to call it quits when we found out Saix would rather howl at the moon than eat chocolate. As I snuggled into my sleeping bag, I pondered what Saix had meant when he called Axel "Lea."

"If you were wondering, my name used to be Lea."

I jumped about ten feet in the air.

"Axel you scared me!"

He sat down next to me on the floor.

"Sorry. You just had that expression on your face that you get when you're thinking about something really hard. I assumed it was what had gone on earlier that was bothering you."

I sighed.

"You know me too well. Just out of curiosity, what do I look like when I have my Thinking Face on?"

"Um well… you scrunch up your eyebrows like this," he demonstrated, "And you also pooch out your lips like this."

I laughed at his expression.

"Do I really do that?"

He nodded.

"Let's get some sleep. The faster we fall asleep, the faster we get to find out who our mystery menace is."

Only then did I realize I was super freaked out at the idea of finding our culprit.

"On second thought let's stay up!" I blurted.

"You know that's not a good idea. What if the monster is like Santa Claus? He won't come if you're awake."

"Good!"

"How 'bout this: I'll keep watch and you go to sleep."

"Maybe it won't come unless everyone is asleep."

"I'm good at faking it. It's gotten me out of some early morning lectures from Saix."

"Okay…but don't fall asleep!"

He smiled warmly.

"Don't worry; I've got it memorized."

Feeling contented and super drowsy, I allowed myself to drift off with Axel lying vigilant several feet away.

_Several feet? _I thought irritably._ That's… not…far enough…_

Blackness enfolded me.

And I awoke to the sound of screaming.


End file.
